A federal judge has sentenced two leaders of the Aryan Knights prison gang in Idaho to more than 17 years in prison on racketeering charges, according to the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye sentenced Christopher Foss, 32, to 17 years and six months, and Buck Pickens, 31, to 17 years and two months. Both Foss and Pickens will also serve five years of supervised release after serving prison time. Each was found to have played a leadership role in the Aryan Knights, or “AK,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The gang is active in the Idaho Department of Correction’s prisons and elsewhere. The AK gang has white supremacist and white separatist ideologies. Since its founding, the AK gang has expanded and is now believed to have over 100 members, both inside and outside of IDOC custody. “Members of the AK gang have used violence and the threat of violence to target non‑white inmates and other targeted inmates,” according to the news release. “AK gang members also engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, and gambling to generate revenue, which was shared among members.” Foss and Pickens were two of 10 AK gang defendants indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2019 for participating in a racketeering conspiracy, a crime under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, commonly called the RICO Act. The indictment also included two separate counts for committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering. Both Foss and Pickens pleaded guilty to participating in a RICO conspiracy.
via magicvalley: 2 leaders of white supremacist Idaho prison gang Aryan Knights sentenced for racketeering